Before looking in detail at the extraordinary claims in CNN's article, let’s just clarify that the core of the story - that the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane team sought and obtained an FISA warrant on Manafort - isn’t just wrong, or false. It's totally fake. 100% made up.

Here is DOJ IG Horowitz emphatically stating in his report that not only did the FBI's Crossfire team not seek a FISA on Manafort, they never even “seriously considered” FISA surveillance of Manafort. (Horowitz repeated that no FISA existed at all under oath to Congress too)

Let's look at the rest of the claims in this CNN story, before speculating who would give this fake information to CNN, and why

CNN itself acknowledged this when the IG report was released, appending an "editors note” in Dec 9, 2019, saying it “contradicts” their Sep 18, 2017 story, without offering any explanation or trying to defend it

The non-existent FISA started in 2014 over Ukraine, was stopped, then “restarted”, likely after Manafort was ousted from Trump's campaign in mid Aug 2016, and “extended at least into early [2017]”, “before and after the election”

CNN “learned” the FISA also included a *physical* search “of a storage facility belonging to Manafort”

The FISA "snooping” included a time when Manafort was “known to talk to President Donald Trump”, and "sparked” concern that “Manafort had encouraged the Russians” to help the Trump campaign, and that the SCO had copies of these "communications”

And CNN's "sources" also claimed there was a "gap" in the FISA due to it being stopped and restarted. When was the "gap"? Oh, in June 2016, during the Trump Tower meeting. Maybe that's when the Collusion must have happened, in this "crucial" period when nobody was listening…!

So whoever "leaked" this story to CNN is crafting this (fake) narrative:

—Manafort had a FISA (meaning there's probable cause he's an agent of a foreign power)

—There was a gap in the FISA, and maybe that's where the "Collusion" was really happening, maybe even with Trump

A recap of the Manafort case and two key court hearings may show motive for why someone would want to make up such an elaborate fake FISA story to bolster the Collusion narrative, and leak it to CNN, timed to land on Sep 18 2017

Aug 2, 2017: Rod Rosenstein writes his first "scope" memo, authorizing the SCO to investigate Manafort for potential "Collusion" with Russia, and for "payments he received from the Ukrainian government"

Aug 18, 2017: The SCO issued a subpoena to Manafort's lawyer to testify against him to the Grand Jury. Manafort's lawyer refused, and the Special Counsel filed a motion to compel the Attorney to testify as a witness.

IMPORTANT: Those Sep 19/20/26 hearings weren't reported anywhere at the time and only became "public" 6 weeks later in the court filing linked above (See 'Exhibit A'). You still can't find almost any stories on them at all, anywhere in the media. Google for yourself and see.

And these hearings were crucial to the SCO’s case: they needed Manafort’s own lawyer to testify against him, to ensure they could get the charges about FARA violations to stick.

Sep 18, 2017: one day before those court hearings, this CNN story exploded all over the media. The takeaway - Manafort was considered such a Russian "Collusion" threat, that the FBI even got a FISA warrant, and the SCO has copies of the communications obtained under the FISA!

Oct 2, 2017: Judge Howell ruled against Manafort (in a non-public sealed opinion), ultimately piercing Attorney/Client privilege and forcing his lawyer to testify against him about the preparation of those FARA filings. Big win for the SCO

The Grand Jury testimony of Manafort's lawyer sought by the SCO helped secure Manafort's indictment on Oct 27, which was made public on Oct 31, 2017 following his arrest

Now it's admittedly speculative that the CNN story influenced Judge Howell, but the introduction to her order justifying forcing the lawyers testimony looks ridiculous in retrospect drawn right from the CNN narrative: a case of "national importance" about Manafort's "Collusion”!

Despite Judge Howell's solemn tone about "national importance" and "Collusion" involving Manafort, in reality, Manafort eventually stood trial for crimes like tax evasion, bank fraud and false FARA filings, committed long before he was ever associated with the Trump campaign

And prior to Manafort's trial, the SCO even admitted in response to Brady motions to his trial lawyers that the US government had *no surveillance intercepts* of Manafort AT ALL. Zip (CNN didn’t report this, or update/retract their original story either)https://twitter.com/JohnWHuber/status/1103813219859292161?s=20

But there is a bigger picture about why someone would go to the elaborate lengths of faking a FISA story in the national media, helping force Manafort's lawyer to flip on him. Because this wasn't the real aim...

Just a couple of months after Manafort's lawyer was turned against him, @GenFlynn own attorneys Covington & Burling would cite this aggressive "Manafort treatment" in their own interviews with the SCO, likely fearing they'd get the same if they didn't get Flynn to plead guilty https://twitter.com/johnwhuber/status/1261815787796512771

In addition, something not known at the time of the CNN leaks, is that Trump's own personal attorney Michael Cohen was also under investigation by the SCO. So that’s Manafort’s attorney, Flynn's attorneys and Trump’s attorney all in the SCO’s crosshairs

Covington and Burling no doubt feared being dragged in front of Grand Jury, leaked about in the media, and asked to explain their FARA filing preparations as Manafort’s attorney had been, especially as legal assistance with FARA is a big part of their business. So they caved.

In fact, the SCO had sought search warrants on Cohen's personal devices/comms as early as *July 18, 2017*. Guess who from? Yep, the same Chief Judge Beryl Howell in D.C. This was kept under seal for nearly two years. But of course the SCO knew and planned all of this at the time

Ultimately, the purpose of these fake stories and this coordinated leaking campaign was so the Special Counsel could establish an aggressive "rep" on the street

*We can even get your lawyers to talk. Maybe we've even heard what you've said to them already on a FISA (wink wink)*

This troubling pattern makes it clear that the SCO's goal was to go after even the lawyers defending Trump's team, Manafort, Flynn and Trump himself

CONCLUSION

The media were willing participants in SCO intimidation. And while CNN did append an editors note over two years later, they've done nothing to expose the "sources" of this fake FISA, who likely are former members of the Special Counsel's Office

/ENDS

Maybe this aggressive approach would be justified had there been any "Collusion", or an actual threat to national security, but we now know that the SCO knew they had nothing *at the time* they were doing this

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